The Greatest Pistol of all time was a FLOP???

J

jar

New member
As our long time members know, I'm a fan of the Browning BDM. Here was a 9mm pistol designed to meet everyones needs.

First, it was accurate and reliable, just what you would expect from Browning. It felt great when you picked it up and it was slim and concealable. Here are a few photos of this complete failure.

This is my BDM next to my 225. Notice that the BDM has a longer sight radius than the 225.

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Here they are from the top. The BDM is significantly slimmer than the 225. Yet when introduced, it was a double stack mag holding 15 rounds.

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And these are the grips.

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The BDM was unusual because there was a switch on the side that let you switch from norma pistol mode (DA/SA) to a revolver mode (DAO).

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Here is pistol mode racked.
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And revolver mode racked.
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You can see the little switch with it's P or R positions right above the slide lock. In safe mode it would drop the hammer to half cock if in the pistol mode. In either mode, it locked the firing pin and disconnected the trigger. The safety was down for on, up for off.

The BDM was ambi-dextrous. There were safeties on both sides and the mag release could be operated with either hand and there was no mag safety like the HPs have. The grips were also ambi with thumb rests on both side. It really does feel as good in the left hand as it does in the right.

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Here is the sight picture
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The rear sight can be drift adjusted or changed out easily. It is locked in place with a set screw,

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While the front sight is held in place with a roll pin.

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So here was a pistol that could be DA/SA or DAO by just turning a switch, that was slim as a BHP and very concealable, with a long sight radius and sights that could easily be changed or adjusted and that was ambi-dextrous right out of the box. It is fast, accurate, reliable and from a company with a history that people really trusted. And it never caught on.
 
Only reason I never bought one was the 'up to fire' frame mounted safety. Common for Europe but I prefer and am use to American 'down to fire'. Otherwise, I would have had at least two of them when they came out.
 
Excellent pic's jar, I appreciate the great view's. I, like you
am a fan of Browning's designs. Unfortunately, I only owned
the 9m/m Hi-Power "Practical" model. What a tremendous
handgun. Had to consolidate my collection to help pay on
bills; and the Browning and several other weapons were
chosen to help keep the boat afloat. I miss it very much,
but as the ole' saying goes " if you're going to dance, you
must pay the fiddler". I kept my beloved West German
manufactuered and assembled Sig P228, instead to the
Browning. I got a real deal on that Browning from my
dealer, back in October of 98. I was quoted $509.95
over the phone, and immediately placed a "hold" on
that weapon with full intention's of having to pay that
price. When I arrived to conduct the transaction, the
price for this NIB Browning Practical with fixed sight's
had dropped to $399.88 + 8% sales tax. I sold that
gun back to the same dealer, who just happens to
be a really good friend for a total of $425.00. At
least, I feel like I came close to breaking even?
Sorry, for the long rant; just thought someone
might be interested in this true story.

Best Wishes,
Ala Dan, N.R.A. Life Member
 
No, the Smith & Wesson hand ejector revolvers have been EXTREMELY successful, thank you.

OH! You mean semi-automatic... :)

What I liked about the BDM was its wonderfully slim grip for a high-cap. semi-auto.

I wish it had gotten greater acceptance than it did.
 
I also really liked the BDM. The one that I played with had a pretty good trigger for a double action. The grip was very slim, and it pointed well.

I do think the up to fire safety was a huge marketing mistake. It put the BDM in the same category as the P7, much different than everything else out there. I think if it had a down to fire safety it would have been more popular. As it was, it would confuse to many folks. (Ever hand a Makarov to a Beretta owner?) :)

Also when the gun first came out it got kind of a bad rep for durability. Guns had a torture test, and the BDM went down with some problem like 2000 rounds in.

Wasn't the USSS thinking about adopting the BDM at one point?
 
P7?

As in P7M8/13?

I've never seen one of those with a manual safety on it.

There's no need for a safety with the cocking lever on the front grip.
 
A guy in my area prefers the BDM for all applications, including carry, and IDPA/IPSC matches. So his gets shot, a lot. It gets repaired a lot. The slide has cracked and been welded up two or three times and it pretty well eats firing pins. He always carries a spare and can change it out quickly.

The torture test Correa refers to may have been the Frank James American Handgunner bit. In that one the BDM broke its frame locking cam in 4000+ rounds. Browning said it was an early gun and the cam had been improved since.

Another article said the company lawyers looked at competing guns and concluded that all single action autos are off-safe down and that all DA autos are off-safe up, and therefore pressured the design engineer to make the BDM control lever that way.

There may have been some reason the Secret Service did not buy them.
 
I really liked my BDM, but traded it for a Mac SE/30 in a moment of weakness. (Needed a computer badly...)

I think the "revolver mode" was cool; a DAO that could still be manually thumb-cocked. I'll own another one someday.
 
Mike Irwin,

I think he meant that it was too different from the norm like a P7, not that it had a safety like a P7. ;)
 
I LOVE the Browning BDM. And agree that it is one of the best pistols ever. It SHOULD have done a lot better in the market. I don't know why it didn't.

Maybe bad timing and a lack of high cap mags?

This gun is on the list of things to aquire. It would make an awesome carry gun. Slim and sleek lines... Nothing that really snags anything. Beautiful gun. Not many autos out there that are gorgeous like that.
 
Mike Irwin,

Some of the P7's made for Mexico and south american countries have a safety on them. I have only seen one and regretably did not buy it at the time. I have seen pictures of them on some of the p7 web pages out there.
 
Mike, Tamara got what I was trying to say. Not that it had a safety, just that its method of operation was just so much different than everything else. I have heard several notable trainers (Farnam for one) who love the P7, but suggest that if it is going to be your gun, it should be your only serious gun.
 
The upside-down safety never really vexed me, as I just used it as a decocker. (I generally don't use the safety on DA/SA autos.)
 
Excellent essay and pictures, JAR! If you ever startup a gun magazine, let know, I'll subscribe! I learned more in your post than from any article I've read in a gun rag.
 
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